Seasons
What causes the change in seasons on Earth?
Axial tilt, 23.5*.
Describe El Nino conditions.
Warming surface waters, upwelling slows or stops, trade winds weaken or stop
Describe La Nina conditions.
Cooler sea surface temperatures, increased upwelling and productivity.
How do oceans influence weather?
Oceans store and transport both heat and water. This impacts temperature and rain patterns on land.
Describe the "greenhouse effect"
Greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide, build up in the atmosphere and trap heat near the surface. This causes warming of the atmosphere.
What is the difference between weather and climate?
Weather is short term, climate is looooooong term
Name the four seasons.
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
How does El Nino effect weather in the US?
In the south, cooler and wetter.
In the north, warmer and drier.
How does La Nina impact weather in the US?
in the north, increased rain and warmer
in the south, drier and cooler
What is the Gulf Stream and why is it important?
A warm ocean current the impacts climate in the US and Europe.
Describe the role of the ozone layer.
Blocks harmful UV radiation from the sun, which can cause cancer in living things.
What are the main components of weather?
Hint: what words do you see in a weather forecast?
temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind, atmospheric pressure, dew point.....
How does the length of daylight change from season to season?
For example, from summer to winter.....
Spring to Summer --> longer days
Summer to Winter --> shorter days
Name one negative impact of El Nino.
Upwelling stops, decreasing productivity and fish populations.
Describe sea surface temperatures during La Nina.
What is the name of the effect that causes winds to curve clockwise in the northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the southern hemisphere?
The Coriolis Effect
How do humans impact the atmosphere?
Activities such as burning fossil fuels, clearing forest land, agriculture, etc.
What is a weather "front"?
Where two air masses meet....weather usually happens at a front.
Name one major event that happens during the summer solstice.
Longest day of the year
Sun at its highest point in the sky
During an El Nino year, what is happening with the trade winds?
The winds slow down or stop.
What happens to the thermocline during La Nina?
It tilts to an incline from west to east.
We discussed several ways the oceans impact weather on land. Name any TWO of them.
Ocean currents affect the land they pass by --> cold currents cool the land, warm currents warm it.
Temperature changes affect Pressure, which creates winds.
Name at least 4 layers of the atmosphere.
troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, ionosphere, exosphere
The uneven heating of the Earth creates specific climate zones at different latitudes.
What are the zones called?
Biomes
Describe the length of day and night during an Equinox.
Day and night are about the same length
Describe how trade winds impact El Nino.
Weakening trade winds cause warm water to pool in the eastern pacific ocean.
Why does upwelling increase during La Nina?
The thermocline is tilted, meaning warm water moves west toward Asia. Upwelling and primary productivity both increase as a result.
Name the 3 major "cells" that create weather patterns....we saw this in the video and drew a diagram.
Hadley Cell
Ferrel Cell
Polar Cell
Describe how temperature AND pressure change as you go up in the atmosphere.
Temperature decreases, pressure decreases
Name the four factors that affect weather and climate.
The sun
the water cycle
the atmosphere
the ocean